The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Nov 24, 2012 Graceann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

How do you make an historical novel that is essentially about the building of a cathedral into a riveting page-turner?

Rule No. 1: Be Ken Follett

Rule No. 2: See Rule No. 1

In reading the other reviews here at Goodreads, I was interested in the love it or hate it dynamic. The experience seems to be sharply divided, which always fascinates me (either five stars or one star, and very little in-between), and the folks who hated it have lots and LOTS to say about why they hated it. You would think tha How do you make an historical novel that is essentially about the building of a cathedral into a riveting page-turner?

Rule No. 1: Be Ken Follett

Rule No. 2: See Rule No. 1

In reading the other reviews here at Goodreads, I was interested in the love it or hate it dynamic. The experience seems to be sharply divided, which always fascinates me (either five stars or one star, and very little in-between), and the folks who hated it have lots and LOTS to say about why they hated it. You would think that with a chunkster like this one, it would be easier to walk away and not spend 1000 pages reading it, getting angrier by the page. Horses for courses, I suppose. When it comes down to it, I tend to prefer writing about books I dislike because it's more fun and easier for me to be critical than full of praise.

I loved every word of it, for the humanness and frailty of the characters, for the satisfying results, and for the fact that even after 1076 pages, I was sorry to say goodbye to them. The architectural details would have, I'm sure, been far more fascinating to me if I had one iota of mathematical or architectural (or even religious) knowledge, but I don't, so the passages where characters try to figure out how to overcome structural flaws went over my head. I still cared about it, though, because they did.

As to whether the medieval history is correct; I don't know. I'm not a historian and I obviously wasn't living in those times. That wasn't why I was interested in reading Pillars of the Earth. I was interested because the characters sounded wonderful to read about. I found that they were indeed grand company.

Just as a general overview and without any spoilers, Tom wants more than anything to be able to build a cathedral. That is his life's goal. Prior Philip wants to have a cathedral and have his priory of Kingsbridge be valued. Throwing a spanner in the works (there's always someone throwing a spanner into the works, isn't there?) are a brutal wanna-be earl and ambitious bishop, in amongst the upheaval of the war between King Stephen and Queen Maud over who will rule the Kingdom.

Lives intertwine, separate for a time and then come back together. Stories mesh in expected and unexpected ways. And there is ugliness here, especially in the treatment of women. Not for those who can easily be triggered into PTSD flashbacks. Some passages were extremely difficult to read, though I can't help but think that as nasty as the events were, real life had to be much, much worse.

It's an author for me to add to my must reads that can keep me riveted for so many pages and make me wonder when I'll be able to have time to sit down with the sequel, because I want to know how he continues the story. Ken Follett is now on that very short must reads list. ...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-2009, historical

Massively long epic. I couldn't help comparing all the misery inflicted on society by a few wealthy individuals acting in their own self-interest to what is going on right now (can we say "bail out?") I look forward to the sequel. ...more

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Oct 20, 2009 Cari rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-listened

This epic, historical fiction novel was quite a "listen" - hours and hours. But I really enjoyed it! The story is focused on the building of a cathedral in the middle ages in England. The descriptions of life during that time are fascinating, and Follett clearly became obsessed with his topic, because although I'm in no way educated in architecture, the long descriptions of the cathedral design and building certainly seemed well-researched. The story is fun - full of soap-opera elements that eas ...more

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May 18, 2011 Joanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2011-read, audiobooks, bookish-2011-summer

I listened to all 30 hours of this in audio format (on cassettes, no less!). The reader did an excellent job reading quickly enough to keep the story moving while not seeming rushed.

The thickly plotted novel is set in 12th century England. I wasn't at all familiar with this period of history and a few times turned to the internet to fill me in on the basic historical facts of, say, the civil war between Maude and Matilda/Stephen or the assassination/martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Generally, I enjoy ...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Amy Ellis rated it it was ok

I really wanted to like this book, as the writing is really good. Unfortunately, it's a bit too violent for me, so I set it down about 300 pages in. Sad. ...more

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